Sir Geoff Hurst wins High Court case over £600,000 Spanish property
Friday, May 28, 2010 @ 11:36 AM
Sir Geoff Hurst won a High Court fight yesterday over a £600,000 investment in Spanish property.
The England World Cup hero, along with six other investors, sued Mark Cordner, their former financial adviser, for misrepresenting terms of a £2 million deal for off-plan villas in 2003 and 2004.
They claimed that, because of “deceit”, they paid the full price up-front for five apartments in a development called Aloha Royal, near Puerto Banús, in the south of the country.
Sir Geoff, 68, was used as a figurehead for the venture to encourage others to invest. He was offered apartments at a “special” price of around £300,000, believing that once built he would double his money.
He appeared in a promotional video for Royal Marbella Group, a Spanish property company that he believed would build the luxury apartments. However, it emerged that the company did not own the land, where the flats were eventually built by another company.
However, he lost the entire investment in what he said was a “cynical scheme” to con people. At an earlier hearing he told the court: “I feel some remorse at getting involved in allowing my name to be used and abused in the way it has been. Most of the people I have been associated with have been very forgiving of my role in this.”
Sir Geoff said that at the start he trusted Cordner, 47, and his boss Michael Hone, 63 over the planned development. But he added: “With hindsight looking at the documents today we would not have gone anywhere near this.”
He admitted he had not done nearly enough research into the backgrounds of the two men. He had not taken any advice before signing an image rights deal in June 2003 for him to promote the scheme. “I was at fault for not looking at the deal more closely,” he said.
He said promotional brochures using his image and words backing the scheme were approved at first even though they made up things that he was supposed to have said.
Later on in the campaign he said “absolute lies”, including the idea that he was designing a golf course — “ludicrous” for a former footballer — were also put out by the men. They also wrongly claimed he was investing in four other apartments.
After ending his links with the organisation his image and quotes were still being used.
Mr Hone has since disappeared, and so Sir Geoff brought his claim against Cordner, who lives with his wife Sandra in a £2.2 million home in Hertfordshire.
Mr Justice Keith, sitting in London, ruled that Cordner was liable and that the seven investors were entitled to damages, with the amount to be assessed later. Sir Geoff’s is the largest part of the claim and includes a £350,000 loan he made to Mr Hone in May 2004, with £110,000 not repaid. But the judge cleared Cordner of responsibility for that loan.
The judge said even though Sir Geoff was advised that it would be “unwise” to make the loan he decided to trust his own judgment and lend him the money.
The judge found that Cordner persuaded them “by deceitful or negligent misrepresentation” to buy apartments. Cordner had claimed that he too was a victim of Mr Hone.
Source: Timesonline